apa thesis statement
In the example about European travel above, readers might be interested in travel around Europe but will they be interested in solo travel, and greater independence and confidence? Hopefully, the answer is yes. Just make sure you examine all viewpoints before investing your valuable time in a well-written piece.
Bad: Reading can develop a child’s analytical mind.
– Words like “can,” aren’t strong enough. This thesis statement begs the question of how? If you’re about to write several paragraphs (or pages) about a topic make sure you can confidently defend every point you make.
Good: Reading develops a child’s mind by fostering comprehension skills, increasing vocabulary, and exposing them to new worlds they might not otherwise encounter.
– Now, we’ve not just stated that reading is good, we’ve provided a sampling of all the benefits we’re about to bring to light in our paper.
Strength: Finally, for a persuasive thesis to be strong, it needs to be arguable. This means that the statement is not obvious, and it is not something that everyone agrees is true.
Good vs. evil is the main theme of Lewis’s Narnia series, as is made clear through the struggles the main characters face in each book.
The opposite of a focused, narrow, crisp thesis is a broad, sprawling, superficial thesis. Compare this original thesis (too general) with three possible revisions (more focused, each presenting a different approach to the same topic):
Tip: In order to be as clear as possible in your writing:
“An analysis of available research on the physical environment identifies three factors that should concern parents and the physical environment to which they expose their children: noise levels, crowding and neighborhood quality.”
You will need to ask, and answer, a specific question in order to write your thesis statement. In order to do this, you need to either come up with a question you can answer, or one which you can demonstrate does not yet have an answer and why. In the example of a paper on the implications of the physical environment on child development, you might ask a question such as: “Which features of the physical environment in a home have negative consequences on child development?” Depending on your survey of the literature available on the subject, you may either answer this question directly with your thesis statement or explain why this question does not yet have a scientifically valid answer.
APA (named for the American Psychological Association) style is used for social sciences like:
General guidelines
References:
http://www.easybib.com/guides/how-to-write-a-strong-thesis-statement/
http://www.cws.illinois.edu/workshop/writers/tips/thesis/
http://classroom.synonym.com/should-statement-appear-apastyle-paper-8662924.html
http://brooklyn.sjcny.libguides.com/ThesisStatements/apa
http://facpub.stjohns.edu/~layachia/2-Writing/Writing%20a%20Thesis%20Statement.htm